Statistically speaking, Adrian Peterson is the best running back in the NFL. He has been the one bright spot on the struggling Minnesota Vikings offense over the past few years, constantly bailing out the poor quarterback play. Yet his name has popped up more times than not in trade rumors this offseason. After the Vikings moved on from several franchise players over the past two seasons, Peterson is denying that he is the next to go.
Peterson is currently signed to a contract that goes through 2017. He will be a $10 million cap hit that only increases in the next season. For a player currently approaching 30, that is a lot of money to have invested, hence the trade rumors. The talks were fueled by the recent departures of Percy Harvin and Jared Allen, both of which looked to be franchise players. The running back is stressing that his intentions are to play out his contract, but he is unsure if the Vikings feel the same way.
"You couldn't have told me that at least two or three of those guys wouldn't still be here," Peterson said, via ESPN.com. "It just goes to show how the business is. Ultimately, the organization is going to do what they feel is best for their team. If that's going younger or trying to save money, that's what it boils down to, no matter what type of talent you are. It's really the unfortunate part of the business, but I'm blessed to still be around, and hopefully, it doesn't happen to me one day. If it does, then, oh well. I'll go on and do something different with my career."
Peterson has been an MVP of the league one year, but he is the offensive MVP of the Vikings every season. The running back has been the saving grace for quarterbacks like Christian Ponder and Matt Cassel. He will likely be the same for rookie Teddy Bridgewater if he sees time as a starter.
Peterson's future with the Vikings is unknown at this point. There is little to no chance the running back is traded before the start of the season. However, all bets are off come next year. No one ever believed the San Diego Chargers would move on from LaDainian Tomlinson, but they did. The running back position simply is not valued as high as it was once and if the Vikings need to save money for someone else, they will not hesitate to part ways with Peterson.
